21 Balayage on Black Hair Ideas: Best Dark Hair Color Trends & Hairstyles (Tips & Inspiration)

Balayage is not a hair color but rather a technique.

If you want a balayage on black hair expect the stylist to brush the lightener directly on the hair in a rather rough pattern.

It is unlike the ombre technique, where the color is placed roughly in the same place.

The balayage gives the hair a more natural, sun-kissed look compared to traditional highlights, where streaks of color run down the head.

21 Most Popular Balayage Hairstyles on Black Hair

Stunning Grey Balayage

The “granny hair” trend is getting really popular these days and if you pair it with an excellent balayage treatment, it just looks much better.

Black hair highlighted by gray balayage streaks with dark brown transition tones gives the gray hair more volume, which is why this is great for fine hair.

Sterling Silver Balayage

If you have a cool skin undertone, this stunningly beautiful grayish-silver hair color is perfect for you.
The hair color starts with a gray base, and the stylist will add light silver balayage.

To give more dimension and movement you can add some black highlights, making the hair look silver or platinum.

Burgundy Balayage on Black Hair

Putting burgundy red balayage on black hair gives it a lot of dimension and movement. It just looks good from any angle.
Burgundy, being a darker tone of red, just melts effortlessly into raven black hair.

Rose Gold Balayage on Black Hair

This balayage has the perfect amount of brassiness, which you would want to avoid with other bleached colors.
Aside from the light gold color, this technique also uses pink and peach tones at the middle and ends of the hair strands.

This results in a beautiful melt from black or dark brown to a soft pink at the ends.

Balayage on Black Hair With Blonde Highlights

Blonde highlights on black hair are already quite common, but if you do it as a balayage, the blending is much smoother and looks much more natural. If done with dark brown middle tones, the effect seems more amazing.

Honey Brown Balayage on Black Hair

This light brown color goes excellent with jet-black hair because it contrasts well with the dark background.
If you use honey brown in a balayage the honey brown blends nicely with the black hair.

Ash Blonde on Black Hair

This grayish-blonde color goes well with black hair because of their similar undertones. It also looks even better if you have a slightly cool skin tone. This has a similar color to the silver-gray balayage but with a tinge of yellow to warm it up a bit.

Auburn Red on Balayage

Adding auburn red to your black hair gives it a nice warmth without making it too light. This color gives off nice autumn vibes, so if you are into that this balayage is perfect for you.

Caramel Balayage

Caramel is a sort of medium brown color, which will give your hair a metallic sheen. This color is not as vibrant and visible as the lighter brown tones. This means you can try a caramel balayage if you want to update your hair color but do not want to make drastic changes.

Platinum Hairstyle

The platinum balayage is the opposite of the mild colors mentioned above. This one has platinum blonde highlights that contrast nicely against black hair.

If you add a couple of dark brown highlights underneath the platinum will make the transition from black to platinum much smoother.

Purple Look on Black Hair

If you want fresh hair color ideas, you can use a purple balayage in your hair. You can choose a lighter purple shade for a more contrasting combination or a very dark purple so the color will only be easily visible with proper lighting.

Subtle Light Brown Hair

As the name suggests this is a subtle balayage color. This is not meant to lighten the hair completely, instead it adds more dimension and the illusion of more volume to thin straight black hair. Adding light waves at the ends will amplify the volumizing effect.

Blue-Toned Balayage on Black Hair

Just like the purple balayage the blue balayage integrated into black hair is a way to add bright colors almost seamlessly into black hair.
This might not be as showy as bleaching your entire head of hair and then dyeing it a bright blue.

If you choose a dark blue balayage, the color will only be highly visible with the proper lighting.

Golden Blonde Balayage

A medium brown balayage transitioning to metallic gold towards the front of your face will help frame your face effectively.
You also have an assurance that it will still look soft and natural.

Subtle Pops of Color

If you want something different you can choose several different bright colors for your balayage hair.
You can have the colors placed underneath a layer of your natural hair so that they will only be visible when you put your hair up.

Galaxy Balayage Shades

A galaxy balayage is great for black hair because it is the best base color for the purple and blue colors.
When you balayage using these two colors, it creates an outer space vibe, which is kind of cool.

Emerald Hues on Black Hair

Green is yet another uncommon balayage color, but it looks charming and fun when done correctly.
The green balayage may be best for you if you have a cool skin tone and a fun attitude.

Hints of Blue Balayage on Black Hair

This is another way of discreetly sneaking bright colors into your hair. Instead of using just blue for the balayage you use bits of blue here and there.

Toffee Brown Tones

This is another excellent way to lighten your hair without bleaching your entire head. The medium-brown toffee tone gives your hair more dimension and highlights the waves of your hair nicely.

Sunset Balayage

This is similar to the galaxy balayage. Just start with a partial balayage, but instead of cool colors the sunset balayage uses warm color tones, like reds, yellows and oranges.

Face-Framing Soft Hairstyle

Regardless of your face shape you can use the balayage technique to bring color to the front of your head and softly frame your face.
You do not even need to use a highly contrasting color. Even a two to three shades lighter color can do the trick.

How to Get and Maintain Black Hair With Balayage

Step 1 – Choose the balayage style

You should consider your skin tone when choosing any color for a regular hair dye job. If you have a warm skin tone, use a warm color, making the balayage look much more natural.

On the other hand, if you want a radical hair color, like silver or a galaxy balayage, no one stops you if that is what makes you happy.

Step 2 – Choose the right stylist

Technically, you can balayage your hair at home, but it is not recommended. The balayage technique of hair coloring is highly technical and a professional hairstylist should only do it. You cannot learn this technique just by watching a couple of tutorial videos.

Check your local salon to see if they offer balayage hairstyling and set an appointment.

Step 3 – Choose the appropriate style for your hair

As mentioned earlier, balayage is a technique for coloring hair, it is not a hairstyle. This is why you should get your hair styled before getting it colored. During your appointment at the hair salon you should choose a hairstyle.

On the other hand, you can still leave your hair as it is and have it colored.

Step 4 – Care for your newly colored hair

If your hairdresser offers a moisturizing treatment after the balayage process I suggest you take them up on their offer.

Balayage is still a process that will need you to bleach your hair, which damages and dries the hair strands, so getting a moisturizing treatment will allow your hair to recover immediately.

Step 5 – Use the right products

Use products designed to help you care for your new balayage hair. The most important thing is that you shampoo much less frequently and that you should also condition your hair daily.

Use a deep moisturizing conditioner too, as this will replace all the moisture the bleach and developer sapped away.
In addition, you should apply a hair mask at least once a week.

Highlights vs. Balayage vs. Ombre

The balayage is often confused with highlights and ombre, but they are very different hair coloring techniques.

To give you an idea here are short descriptions of the three procedures:

Highlights 

When you get highlights you will be coloring sections of your hair from roots to tips. They consist of lightened hair strands achievable with different techniques, like balayage and foils.

Ombre 

This hair coloring technique involves coloring only the bottom third part of the hair strands. This can give a sort of gradient look to the hair.
It can also be described as a gradated and dramatic look that you can form with the aid of a balayage technique.

Balayage

With the balayage technique the hair strands are also not covered entirely similar to the ombre, but the color application is different.
The color is applied to seemingly random parts of the hair.

Some sections will be colored at the midpoint to the tips, while others might go higher or lower, depending on the effect the stylist is going for. In other words, it may consist of lowlights and highlights. It is still a highlighting technique but not exclusive.

It also tends to have a more natural look while requiring less maintenance than traditional foil highlights.
Now, which of the three methods is the healthiest choice?

The answer is none because all of them utilize bleach. Despite that, you can make your choice by asking your hairstylist about the safety and toxicity of the products used on your hair.

Find one that uses minimal toxic color lines and it can help lessen your hair’s exposure to harsh chemicals.
You can also differentiate the three and choose which one takes the longest to finish.

In most cases, the balayage treatment can be completed within 2 to 5 hours. Highlights and ombre often take around 2 to 4 hours.
To be sure, you can have a consultation first to determine the length of time it would take to get your desired result.

FAQ

What are some problems for black hair with balayage?

The biggest problem with getting a balayage with black hair is that it will cause the hair to lose its shine.
If you want to bring back the original shine of your black hair you will need to use moisturizing products religiously.

How long does balayage last on black hair?

The beauty of getting a balayage is that you don’t need to do constant retouches every other week or so to keep it looking good.
The color will blend naturally as your hair grows out over time.

How long does it take to get balayage on black hair?

Typically, it would take a skilled hair stylist around 2 hours to do balayage highlights in black hair.
However, it can take longer if the hair is quite long.

How often should you touch up black hair with balayage?

You do not need to touch up black hair with balayage that often. The color will grow out nicely along with your hair.
You can even choose to color your hair once every month.

It should be just part of your hair maintenance and a way of refreshing the balayage. You can also wait for several months before you redo the color of your black hair.

Can you do balayage on black hair without using bleach?

Yes, you can do hair lightening without bleach by using a developer (20-strength at least). Note, though, that the color will not be as bright. This is ideal if you want a discreet balayage.

Can a brassy balayage on black hair be fixed?

Yes, fixing brassy hair texture on black hair is still possible after undergoing a balayage treatment.
One thing that you can do to add life and lightness to brassy hair is to apply some toning products.

Among your options are blue-based and purple hair toning products designed to nix hair brassiness and boost the vibrancy and shine of your locks. With the help of toning treatments you can restore the life of your hair.

You should also avoid using hot styling tools to prevent further damage to your hair.